>B 273 

15 
'opy 1 



fTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF AMERICAN REPUBLICS 

JOHN BARREITT. DlREiCTOR 
» FRANCISCO J. YANES. SECRETARY 



TOBACCO 



(Reprint of an article from the Monthly Bulletin of the International 
Bureau of American Republics, January, 1909) 




WASHINGTON, D. C. 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1909 



INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF AMERICAN REPUBLICS 



1/ 



JOHN BARREITT. D I R El C T O R 
FRANCISCO J. YANES. SECRETARY 



TOBACCO 



(Reprint of an article from the Monthly Bulletin of the International 
Bureau of American Republics, January, 1909) 




WASHINGTON, D. C. 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1909 



W" i\ 






k "%M "W"?': "W": 



H %£ 






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i.. M„„^, M„ M„y^. XA, A, 



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HE tobacco crop in 1907 amounted almost to three 
billion pounds. Allowing as a moderate average 
25 cigars and 100 cigarettes to the j)ound, this 
gives an annual product of 25,000,000,000 cigars, 
100,000,000,000 cigarettes for the world's con- 
sumption during the year, with plenty to spare 
for all the snuff, chewing, and pipe tobacco de- 
manded by such users of the weed. Assuming that the total popula- 
tion of the world is 1,600,000,000, the per capita employment of 
tobacco can be reasonably calculated. 

The discoverj^ by Europeans of the native disposition of this indige- 
nous plant was cotemporary with the discovery of America. Colum- 
bus, it is asserted, noticed the Indians drawing in smoke from a 
kind of pipe and exhaling it through their nostrils. All reports 
from explorers and adventurers, whether in the southern or northern 
regions of the new continents, contain references to the habits the 
Indians had of consuming this unknown herb in one way or another. 
Smoking seems to have been most general, but among some tribes 
it was chewed, by others it was considered a sacred drug with which 
to produce purging and emesis, by others again it served as a stimu- 
lant or narcotic. All Indians, however, agreed that tobacco added 
greatly to their phj^sical and spiritual well being. The Spanish, 
the Portuguese, and the English were not slow to adopt the habit 
in vogue wherever they found it, and it was soon introduced into 
Euroj^e. Sir Walter Raleigh popularized pipe smoking in England 
by the method jDrincipally employed in the regions visited by his 
countrymen. The Portuguese had already begun the cultivation of 
the plant in southern Europe, and from them it was brought in 1560 
to France by Xicot, who studied its properties in a scientific way. 
From NicoT is derived the word nicotin, the essential alkaloid which 
characterizes tobacco wherever grown. Claims have been made that 
the Chinese, ages before the discovery of America, had the habit of 
smoking, but that they used tobacco can not be proved, although it 
is not improbable that some similar leaf was known to them. Stan- 
ley, in his expedition across the center of darkest Africa, found the 
natives following with a like custom, but they used the banana or a 



52 



JUL 24 1909 

fls or O* 



tobacco: the American Indian's gift to civilization. 53 

similar leaf in their pipes, and tobacco was not found wliere the 
connection with the Avhitc man could not be traced. 

Romance and poetry were associated with tobacco perhaps even 
more in its earlier years than to-day. Some of Raleigh's best inter- 
views Avith Queen Elizaijeth were on this subject; Ben Jonson 
wrote verses, as did all the other poets of his time, except Shake- 
speare, clubs were founded solely to enjoy it, and a man's rating in 
society was established l)y tobacco. When King James's famous 




THE TOBACCO PLANT CROWNED BY ITS FLOWER AND BLOSSOMS. 

On the right the flower has been removed, )>ut the suckers are develo|iing. Both flower and 
suckers must be removed to prevent the ])huit fnnu guing to seed, as well as to stimulate the 
growth of the leaf, which is the important cmisiihTation in tobacco culture. 

'' Counterblast Against Tobacco " was issued, " drinking " tobacco, as 
smoking was then often called, was almost universal not only in Eng- 
land but in Europe, One of the most famous epigrams of the time 
ran thus: 

Sir Walter Raleigh ! name of worth, 

How sweet for thee to know 
King James, who never smoked on earth, 

Is smoking down below. 



54 



INTERNATIONAL BUEEAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS. 



In the New World the romantic side of it Avas coupled with a very 
practical influence in j^opulating the A/^irginia colonies. The whole 
region of the James had given itself bver to the cultivation of tobacco, 
so that even the streets of the towns were devoted to it, and manv 
j^oung men went out as settlers and led rather lonely lives. These 
young men had plenty of tobacco, but no money or sweethearts with 
which to grace a home. The London Company, thenmostbusilyengaged 
in the trade between England and Virginia, devised a plan by which a 
cargo of young women of good social position was sent out to comfort 
the young men ; there was to be, of course, no coercion of any kind, 
l:»ut each young man on his selection of and acceptance l\v one of the 




ARRANGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF TOBACCO FLOWERS. 
The structure gives evidence that tobacco flowers are naturally self-fertile. 

young Avomen Avas to pay to the company " 120 lb. Avaight of best 
leafe tobacco,'' for reimbursement. The first cargo was such a suc- 
cess that others followed, and no comi^laint Avas heard that the bar- 
gain Avas regretted in any direction. 

A i^lant that could fasten such a habit upon mankind, whether 
civilized or uncivilized, Avithin the short space of four hundred years, 
and become knoAvn as well as cultivated in CA^ery portion of the earth, 
must meet an essential l:)ut mysterious want of the human body and 
mind. The origin of the word is, hoAvever, lost in obscurity. Un- 
doubtedly it Avas derived from the islands or mainland of the Tropics, 



tobacco: the American Indian's gift to ctvtltzatton, 55 

and is purol}^ an Indian nanio. Tn all langnaj^os oxcopt the Enjjlish 
tho first vowel is r?, bnt tlie o is popnlar and will always he retained ])y 
those nsino; the Knolish lanonaiie. The diU'erenee wonld seem insig- 
nificant, bnt one who is not aware of it may at tim(\s he eonfused by 
searehino; thron<2,h varions classifications nnder the wron<»; letter. 

AA'ith the increasinii- nse of tobacco in all its ])re])arations, the cnl- 
tnre of the plant has been established over wider and wider areas, 
until now there is i)ractically no country — civilized or uncivilized — 
where it is not to some extent orown. Indigenous as it is to a tropi- 
cal climate, the tobacco plant has, by the inoeuuity of man, been com- 
pelled to adapt itself to all ranges of temperature, so that it is found 
at such wide extremes as the region of the equator and the snow- 
covered valleys of Canada and Sweden. Tn this respect it resembles 
the vine, which will thrive so long as it has sunshine for a few months 
in summer, and sufficient moisture to nourish the rapidly growing 
leaves. 

Tobacco belongs to the nightshade — Solanacese — family, which em- 
braces many of the best known domesticated plants and vegetables, 
such as the Irish potato, the tomato, eggplant, red pepper, jimson 
Aveed, and henbane. The genus Xicotiana has about 50 species, but 
the great varieties, the Nicotlana tabacum and the Nicotiana rvstiea^ 
supply nearly all the tobacco of commerce. There is a variety called 
.persiea, but the Persian tobacco as we know it is but a modification 
of the nistica. The sjDecies Nicotiana tabacum is more generally used 
than the others in every part of the world. It grows from 2 to 8 
feet in height, and has ovate, oblong or lanceolate leaves, alternately 
attached to the stalk spirally; these leaves measure from 12 to 42 
inches in length and 8 to 24 inches in width. The floAvers are rose- 
colored or white. In the first days of the use of tobacco each brand 
was known more by the place of growth or origin than by any other 
name, but to-day, although such well-established and even historical, 
distributive titles as Virginia, Maryland, Carolina tobacco, etc., are 
retained, many older terms like Trinidado, or Brazil, have been quite 
forgotten. A better-understood designation is that of the character 
or appearance of the article ready for consumption or preparation by 
the trade. All varieties are distinguished from one another by the 
form, color, size, and texture of their leaves; by their fragrance, 
adaptability to soils and uses, and by varying aptitudes to secrete 
gums and oily matter while ripening. 

Tobacco is grown from the seeds and its cultivation does not differ 
materially from that of the cabbage. The preparation of seed for 
distribution to planters is an important part of the industry, because 
much depends upon the quality of seed used, and the appropriateness 
of such seed for the particular soil and climate in which it is proposed 



56 



INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS. 



to grow it. Tobacco seeds are small, and plenty of them are needed 
to insure a good growth. Moreover, they react noticeably to in- 
fluences of soil, producing a leaf 1:hat preserves a color traceable to 




(Copyright by Underwood & Underwood.) 

A TOBACCO FIELD 

The tobacco field must be constantly watched from the day of sowing the seed or setting out the 
young plants to the moment the leaf is carried into the curing house. Tlie flowers and suckers 
must be removed and the animal enemies of all kinds must be killed in some way. Sometimes 
the cost of this eternal vigilance is a heavy item and the profits to the planter may be seriously 
reduced by his efforts to bring to the manufacturer a high grade, uninjured leaf. 

the coloring matter of the soil in which it grows. The plant is one 
also that crosses readily, so that it may be easily modified to suit local 
conditions, but at the same time it must be carefully guarded to pre- 



TOBACCO : THE AMERICAN INDIAN S GIFT TO CIVILIZATION. 



57 



vont accidental crossing. The cultivation of tobacco for its various 
uses has received as careful attention as that of any agricultural 
industry, and the Agricultural Departments of all governments have 
given elaborate study to the question, as a scientific and practical 
problem vitally concerning all farmers and producers of staple crops. 
Each year the plant must be reared from the beginning, thus re- 
sembling wheat and potatoes, and differing therefore from trees or the 




THE TOBACCO WORM. 

This is called horn worm or horn blower in different parts of the country and is the caterpillar of 
alargre sphinx moth. It eats the leaf of tobacco, tomato, and allied plants, including occasionally 
the Irish potato. The worm is green. One, two, or even more crops of worms may develop in a 
season. The long beak is really a tongue sheath through which the worm sucks the nectar of 
flowers. Several methods of destroying this enemy are known and practiced. 

vine. Cultivation in every detail has become a nicely technical pro- 
cedure, every step being carefully controlled; after seeding, and, if 
this is adopted, after transplanting, tobacco must be fertilized, and 
there is no plant so susceptible to fertilization as tobacco. The de- 
mand of any particular variety of plant for its natural nourishment 
must be most exactly met, or poor results are apt to follow. Conse- 
quently the chemistry of plant, soil, and fertilizer has become almost 
65357— Bull. 1—09 5 



58 



INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS. 



an exact science. More than half the States of the United States are 
engaged in the production of the le^f , and throughout the Union new 
areas are brought into bearing, because analysis has shown that soil, 
seed, and food can be so combined as to produce a commercial!}' 
profitable article. Agriculture experiment stations the world over 
are showing how to go to work to get a good crop, and the old fear, 
ending in real disaster in Virginia many years ago, that the soil 
would become exhausted and barren, is no longer impending over the 
modern farmer who studies his occupation intelligently. Perique 
tobacco, produced in a small area of Louisiana, settled originally by 




TOBACCO BED SHOWING AWNING FRAMii. 

A seed bed in which the tobacco plant is cultivated before it is transplanted. This method is 
adopted for delicate leaf grown from the seed and develops the resistant quality in the mature 
plant. 

the Acadians, is an exception, in that it will not grow elsewhere. It 
demands the black soil of these bottoms for its peculiar flavor. 
Scarcely more than 50,000 pounds a year of Perique measure the 
Avorld's crop. 

Various expressions are used to denote the processes employed 
in the different stages of. cultivation. Topping is the term im- 
plying the removal of the seed head; this is done to divert the 
vitality of the plant from its essentially physiologic function — the 
perpetuation of the species — to the development of the leaf. Suckers 
are thrown out at the place of topping, and these, too, must be removed 



tobacco: the American Indian's gift to civili/ation. 59 

promptly. This api)li('s as well to the mothod hy which the strength 
of the leaves is maintained by restricting their number. If seeds are 
to be gathered certain plants must be set apart from others and these 
cultivated with special reference to this purpose. AVhen the leaf is 
ripe it is harvested. The length of time between topping and harvest- 
ing varies greatly, and experience is needed to decide on the proper 
color and firmness at which to begin. Cutting or priming is the 
term by which is understood the process of gathering the leaves for 
curing. This is one of the most important steps in the cultivation 
of tobacco. It must be done on a dry day, so that the leaf will be 
clean, unspotted, and free from fungus. According to the habit of 
the country or district the leaves are now placed in a basket or hung 
on a board or ware, and allowed to wilt. Then it is cured. Curing 
is, of course, the step which changes the product from a mere agri- 
cultural to a purely connnercial commodit}'. Tobacco must not be 
permitted to sweat, which really means the growth of fungus, for if 
fungus once starts in a warehouse, it is liable to spread throughout 
all the stock; neither must it ferment too soon, for the result will be 
the same, or lead to evils equally as disastrous. Proper fermenta- 
tion is an art and must be controlled by an expert whose personal 
judgment has been tested by long handling of tobacco in all stages. 
The technical process is called pressing, but does not necessarily imply 
that the leaves themselves are subjected to great pressure; they are 
w^eighted down by themselves in a receptacle constructed for that 
purpose, the change taking place now, due to action of enzymes rather 
than to bacteria (as w^as once thought), being one of ripening, as it 
were, through heat and moisture. 

This fermentation process develops in the tobacco leaves the char- 
acteristic qualities of the commercial article. Fermentation follows 
immediately after curing when both are done by the grower, but 
where the cured tobacco is bought up by manufacturers several 
months may pass before it is subjected to the latter process. When 
tobacco is ready for manufacture into its finished condition for con- 
sumption, the amount of nicotin is relatively unimportant, and it 
is certain that the excellence of the leaf and its adaptability are not 
dependent upon it. If the prime object of tobacco culture were the 
production of nicotin, as the prime object of raising sugar beets is 
the production of sugar, then the amount of nicotin might be forced 
by the use of nitrogenous fertilizers, but nicotin alone no more makes 
a good tobacco than does alcohol alone make a good wine. The flavor 
and aroma are much more important. 

Classification of the leaves now^ takes place, although some selec- 
tion has taken place in the earlier stages. A division popularized by 
long use separates them according to their color into : Claro, light 



60 INTERNATIONAL BUEEAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS, 

brown; Colorado claro, brownish yellow; Colorado, brown; Colo- 
rado maduro, dark brown ; Madurof dark. This has applied largely 
to the wrappers, but Sumatra and other leaves are to-day more freely 
employed for wrappers, and as fashion now admits that a good cigar 
is something besides a wrapper, and that a good wrapper may possess 
other qualities than color, adherence is not always gi^-en to the above 




> 5 

w a 

h-t OS 

o "^ 

■^ a 

ca a 

s s 

O o 



classification. This whole question is one decided ultimately by the 
manufacturer and the consumer, the latter exercising his taste, the 
former his judgment. Taste takes the direction of strength, aroma, 
moisture or dryness, and appearance of the finished article, whether 
cigar or cigarette; judgment is necessary on the part of the manu- 
facturer in deciding not only these points, but also the questions of 



TOBACCO: THE AMERICAN INDIAN S GIFT TO CIVILIZATION, 



61 



quality, and serviceability for filler, binder, and Avrapper; both taste 
and judgment unite in demanding that a tobacco when used for smok- 
ing purposes must have a good burn. Burning quality is the most 
important requirement for a first-class smoking tobacco. 

Variation in burning qualities must be sought in differences in 
chemical composition, which, as has been said, is greatly influenced 
by the character of the soil, the climate, the season, and the kind of 
fertilizer used. Moreover, there is reason to believe that certain 
strains of tobacco possess the power of ajDjDropriating from the soil 
those constituents conducive to a good burn, while other closely re- 
lated types under the same conditions are lacking this power. In ad- 
dition to the growing of tobacco, the curing and fermentation of the 
leaf are important factors in developing a good burn. This is a com- 
prehensive term, including such elements as fire-holding capacity. 



m\ 



\^^^:t 



or 



B 



T""'^! g.400.000.000 I Z.4SO.C100.000 



:.150.000.CiCO| Z. 2 00.000.000 I S.2.ZJ.OOO.OOO iLBa 



evenness of burn, and character of the ash. The fire-holding capacity 
refers to the length of time the tobacco will keep alight ; but it should 
burn evenly, and have no great tendency to coal in advance of the 
burning area. In some cases defects are due to injudicious combina- 
tions of filler, binder, and wrapper. In the best smoking tobacco the 
ash should be a uniform gray or white, and show a decided cohesive- 
ness. Good tobacco will not burn with a flame, but will continue to 
glow almost indefinitely when once it is lighted. The '" burn," the de- 
ciding factor in tobaccos, has had an immense amount of chemical 
study devoted to it for more than fifty years, but as yet no one has 
been able to offer a satisfactory explanation of the conduct of different 
kinds of tobacco as regards their burning qualities. One fact is notice- 
able, however, in comparing the composition of the tobacco plant with 




en ^■S 



tobacco: the American Indian s gift to civilization, 



63 



that of other agricultural crops; it has a remarkably high content of 
mineral matter, commonly called the ash. On the average this ash 
is well above 15 per cent of the total weight of the dry leaf, and a 
distinct relation is demonstrable between the mineral constituents of 
the ash and its good or poor burning qualities. Two undisputed facts 
have resulted from innumerable studies made in this regard, and 
these are that chlorin injures the fire-holding capacity of the leaf, 
wdiile potash favors this property; these facts, however, are insuffi- 
cient in themselves to explain fully the burning (i[ualities of diHerent 
sami:>les of tobacco. Yet the ultimate analysis indicates that potash 
salts, in due combination with calcium and magnesium, produce the 
best ash and give that desired burn which characterizes the highest 
priced leaf in the tobacco trade. 



or THE TOTAL 


WORLD'S TOBACCO CKOP THE. 1 


FOLLOWING PROPORTIONS AKE PRODUCED BV PAH-AMERICA. | 




UNITaD STATES 


PERcnn 

£8.75 


^ 


(E.XC1.USIVE OT CANADA) 


CUBA 
BRAZIL 

ARGENTINE REPDBUC 
MEXICO 


2. 35 
2.15 
1.9 
1.18 






_ 


« 








r" 










^"™" 




^ 


■ 




PARAGUAY 


.5 


h- 














DOMINlCANmPUBUC 


.43 
















COL.OMBIA 


.55 


^ 














VENEZUTLA 


.35 


■■ 














CHILE. 


J5 


■H 














CENTRAL AKERlCft. 


.27 


BH 














BOLIVIA 
PERU 
HAITI 
ECUADOR 


.IS 
.OS 

.008 


■ 
I 


I 


K 

1 

•VI 


1 
•7 


1 






URUGUA.V 


.002 
















TOTAL. 38.S5X 






^z^ _^ 


^ II 



AVhen the leaf has been delivered to the manufacturer it is con- 
verted into cigars, cigarettes, pipe, chewing and smoking tobacco. 
Smoking and chewing were the aboriginal methods by which native 
Americans consoled and stimulated, or at times physicked them- 
selves with the plant. A crude pipe from which smoke was drawn 
up into the nostrils was the implement first seen by the Spaniards. 
On the mainland, especially in what is now the United States, a pipe 
on present day lines was used, and had great symbolic significance 
at councils of peace or war. Within the Tropics — in Mexico and 
Central America — the dried leaf was rolled upon itself to form the 
prototype of the modern cigar, and in other places corn husks AAere 
the containers, somewhat larger than the shuck cigarette smoked 



64 



INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS. 



SO commonly by Mexicans, Central Americans, and Brazilians. The 
pipe was the vehicle adopted by the J^nglish, and all the old prints 
illustrating smoking in early days show only the pipe in the mouths 
or hands of the devotees of tobacco. Chewing is undoubtedly a 
habit inherited from the time when the medicinal effect was con- 
sidered of immense value in the use of tobacco, for its stimulant quali- 
ties were held by the Indians to follow a small dose, or to be a desired 
result of the immediate prostration produced by a larger quantity. 
As Europeans found that effects were thus obtained, tobacco in 
some preparation for mastication was popularized for use by those 
who could not get a pipe or cigar whenever it was desired. Snuff 
takins was discovered among the Brazilian Indians, and they were 



WORLD'S PHODUCCTION OF TOBACCO 

FOR ONE, VEAR 



jinclumng' 
(ll/tntral ^mtrira,(?£ul»a 
andthcothtrvUtflt ^ndite 



c^sia 




IZS.COO.OOO LBS. 



ZS.CCO.OOOI^S. S.QO0.OOOI.DS. 



its best fabricators. Their taste in this nuitter was as pure as that 
of the fashionable world of the East, and the snuff they made has 
never been surpassed nor their apparatus for making it. This habit 
was introduced into Europe by the Portuguese, and popularized in 
France and the north by Catherine de Medici. Ladies took snuff, 
and probably ladies occasionally smoked, but practically no mention 
is made of women smoking, and as a general habit women seem to 
have resorted to it very sparingly. The ungallant rumor current 
among many that the ladies of Latin America quite as commonly 
as the men are seen with cigar or cigarette between their lips is 
unfounded and unwarranted. Women of the peon class are met 
with pipe or cigarette as a companion; in the public places of the 



66 INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS. 

haut ton, as in similar resorts of the Anglo-Saxon, it may be the 
fashion for ladies to join in the tirick of smoking, but the more 
acquainted one becomes with the intimate social life of Latin Amer- 
ica, the more is one astonished that credence could ever have been 
given to the fiction that women here habitually indulged in tobacco. 
The physiologic eilects of tobacco have been discussed ever since 
it was first used by civilized man. The Indians knew the symptoms 
it caused, but were satisfied to ascribe them to the mysterious power 
influencing all life about them and questioned no further. But the 
attacks upon the habitual consumption of the prepared leaf have 




TOBACCO CURING HOUSE. 

Within the curing house several processes are carried on before the tobacco is ready for the manu- 
facturer. The leaves are resorted now to grade them as to qualitj', and they must be delicately 
handled to prevent anj injury that might reduce the grade to which any leaf originally be- 
longed. Only hand labor can be used for this purpose and decided skill is required. 

had practically no restraining force, and there is no gauge of civili- 
zation so generally applicable throughout the world as that of the 
consumiDtion of tobacco. A substantial agreement has to-day been 
reached among scientists that tobacco — this does not mean the alka- 
loid nicotin — is not the poison it was once supposed to be. In fact, 
tobacco leaf can be grown and cured with an almost imperceptible 
proportion of nicotin, and this meets the requirements of the con- 
sumers' taste even better than a tobacco strong in nicotin. It is 
therefore the aroma in the smoke, and the essential oils in the leaf, 
which perpetuate the habit and stimulate the intellectual desire 



c; <^ CO 

c p rn 




68 INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS. 

to enjoy the narcotic effects resulting from the properlj^ prepared 
article. Raw tobaccos are strong, bi^t they are not liked; on the 
other hand, delicately cured tobaccos bring the highest price and 
enjoy the longest reputation. This indicates that the effect sought 
is altogether on the mind and imagination and not at all upon the 
body. The use of tobacco is therefore differentiated at once from 
the habitual use of any other drug. It has no demonstrable — that is, 
no organic effect upon the body. It does irritate the heart and upset 
the digestive organs if taken too often or Avithout judgment, but 
this effect is altogether functional and disappears as soon as the 
habit is discontinued. That form of blindness called tobacco 




A READER IN A CIGAR FACTORY IN CUBA. 

Every large cigar factory employs a professional reader, who reads from books or newspapers 
selected by the workers, to hold their attention on the work and prevent conversation or 
argument between the operatives. He sits on a raised platform above the heads of his hearers, 
centrally located in the room, where all may hear him. 

amblyopia comes from the almost constant use of the cigar or from 
the roughest kinds of tobacco smoked in a pipe. The consequences 
here may be permanent and disastrous, but immediate attention to 
the early symptoms will restore the eyesight unimpaired. Tobacco 
seems not to weaken the moral fiber of the one who uses it, and there 
is need only of a firm effort of will to relinquish the habit, if the 
individual so desires; in these respects it is essentially superior to 
all other drugs. Another argument in its favor is that the narcotic 
or stimulant effect of tobacco seems to be satisfied within itself; 
other drugs arouse a craving from a still more violent excitant, but 
the probability is that if mankind were dei^rived of tobacco his 



tobacco: the AMERICAN INDIAN'S GIFT TO CIVILIZATION, 



69 



physique Avould suffer by iudulgence in other di'tigs infinitely more 
powerful and pernicious. 




(Photo by Undfiw cioJ c>v: Underwood.) 

A CIGARETTE FACTORY. 

Cigarettes are to-day made largely by machinery, which has to a great extent displaced the hand 
labor, once the universal rule in factories. Machines are even made to place the cigarettes in 
the box ready for tlie consumer, but the employment of women for this i)urpose is still custom- 
ary in the older centers of the trade. This is altogether piecework, and women become mar- 
velously expert in their occupation. 

The tobacco plant, like all living things, has its parasites, but it 
has no enemies peculiar to itself; it suifers, therefore, only from 



70 INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS. 

attacks by insects that could thrive on other plants equally well. 
From the time the seed is sown until the leaf reaches the consumer 
there is danger from some enemy. The flea bug or flea beetle, the 
tobacco worm or hornblower, the bud worm, and a host more, feed 
on the growing leaf. Other insects like the cigarette beetle are in- 
jurious to cured tobacco, and feed on all preparations made from it; 
they hatch in factories and warehouses. For all these there are 
fortunately successful remedies, destructive to the insects but not 
harmful to the tobacco. 

Every ReiDublic represented in the International Union of American 
Republics is a grower of tobacco. Every country has a large com- 
merce in the leaf and the manufactured article; every Government 
draws an important part of its revenue from the tobacco trade going 
on within or across its borders. Tobacco is used by a greater number 
of people and among more nations than any other cultivated product 
of the earth, and it is, with the exception of tea, the most highly 
taxed substance in the world. In 1907 the United States derived 
$78,000,000 from the internal-revenue and customs receipts on this 
article, and other Governments profit likewise. The inhabitants of 
every country have their own fashion of smoking and of preparing 
the leaf for consumption. Machine labor is displacing hand labor, 
and therefore the varying shapes of cigars or cigarettes once char- 
acteristic of any country are gradually yielding to a more uniform 
product, but the tobacco itself is growing superior year by year and 
the smoker may rest content that Avherever he goes he will find an 
excellent tobacco from the local fields. 



i#^^^- 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




